Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The
recent Republican budget proposal to slash student aid by $150 billion
represents an egregious elimination of vital support for our higher education
system. The United States faces $1.3
trillion in outstanding student debt, a three-fold increase in tuition cost
over the past 30 years, and an increasingly competitive labor market for college
graduates. These variables have created
an environment in which a college education is increasingly necessary in order
to achieve the "American Dream," now that a college education is becoming
less accessible than ever before.

The
higher education system is evolving, yes, but cutting off access to the
lifeblood of our economy and workforce at this pivotal inflection point may
cause irreparable harm to our rising generation of producers and creators. The recent proposal in Congress includes
cutting Pell Grants by $90 billion, slashing in-school interest subsidies by
$34 billion, and eliminating benefits and safety net programs for borrowers by
$27 billion. To establish the severity
of these proposed cuts, the Pell Grant used to cover 80% of college costs in
1975, and is projected to cover only 20% by 2025. It helps put 9 million students through
school each year. That means that while
the purchasing power of the Pell Grant is already organically deteriorating
based on inflation and rising tuition costs, the government is accelerating its
extinction by actually reducing the size of the Pell Grant fund itself. That alone is like a double whammy hit to
college accessibility.

We cannot sit back and allow this to happen.These programs are integral to the success of
our nation.Education is a portal to
achievement and fundamental to our people’s evolution.We must put an end to these proposals and
unite in support, not abandonment, of our nation’s students.If you agree, please show your support by
signing the Student PIRGs petition: bitly.com/helpsavestudentaid. [more...]

Thursday, March 19, 2015

How did political appointees take
control of our economy? Can we ever find our way back to free markets and
honest money? Would
the Federal Reserve keep a key interest rate at or near zero, continuing to
give free money to the biggest corporations and banks, the casino known as Wall
Street, and the growing federal government? Business networks counted down to
the economy-shaking Fed announcement: the easy cash will keep coming until at
least June – and perhaps until 2017. [more...]

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

When it comes to wills, most people procrastinate. They say, "I’ll get to that later,"
"I don’t have enough money to worry about," or "It’s way too
expensive." Most recently a colleague of mine quoted an appalling
statistic - appalling because for over 30 years I have been calling out to
America through radio, television, newspapers, seminars and the Internet, to
get their legal/financial affairs in order. The statistic he quoted was that in
2014, 72% of all the deceased in America passed away without so much as a
simple will. Was he accurate? I have no reason to believe he wasn’t
but if even only half of his statistic was true, the number is stunning. The
reality is that procrastination is a decision - to allow the government, the
courts and attorneys to determine the what, who and how of the distribution of
your assets and even the guardianship of your children. [more...]